Chapter 5
A boat slowly made its way out of the shed by the docks and out into the open water. The sunrise lit up the surface of the water and the tops of the skyscrapers. A morning breeze ruffled Tidus' hair as he stood at the stern, steering the ship. It leisurely made it way along the buoys that marked the boundaries of the harbor of C-Block West. He switched on the autopilot lever and walked down the staircase to the cabin door, where he cautiously peered into the gloom.
"How she doing?" he inquired.
"She'll be fine," said Yuna turning from the bedside of her patient, "But she got banged up pretty bad."
The woman lay on Tidus' bed with the blankets up to her waist, her arms folded across her chest in an attitude that suggested mournful prayer. White bandages now graced her cheek and forehead. She stirred in her sleep, groaning softy.
"She sounds like she's having a bad dream," suggested Tidus, now in the middle of the room.
"Are you sure this is your mother?" asked Yuna, not daring to look him in the eye.
"What do you mean?" he wondered
"You told me she died after Sir Jecht disappeared," she explained. By now Tidus was standing over her.
"Yeah," he muttered quietly. He had to know the truth, but at the same time he was too afraid to ask. Yuna seemed to sense his mood and stood up quickly.
"I'll get some more water," she said as she hurried out the cabin door.
"But Yuna, the sink is over…," began Tidus. It took him a moment to realize that she wasn't going for water. He slumped on the chair she had been using, next to the bed. A cold hand reached over and took his, making him nearly jump out of his skin.
"Mother?" he inquired fearfully.
"Sorry to startle you," she said apologetically. Tidus looked into her aquamarine eyes and felt a familiar chill.
"You're not her after all," he said with a faint sigh as he pulled his hand free.
"Please don't cry," she said quietly, "You have done nothing wrong."
"I'm not gonna cry," he said defensively, "It's just you look like my mother." She slowly sat up and draped an arm over his shoulder, the bandages on her face reminding him uncomfortably of the Dark Aeon.
"I know Tidus," she said reassuringly, "But it was your wish for me to take this form."
"Why would I want that?" he demanded turning away angrily.
"You had so much left to say to her," she explained, "Now lie down."
"I don't want to," he said petulantly.
"You're forgetting we are bound together," she replied evenly, "I know all your secret desires." With that, she gently pushed on his shoulder so that he was lying sideways with his head across her lap. He only feebly resisted as she began to stroke his hair.
"Hey," he protested weakly.
"Don't fight it," she replied calmly, "I'm merely returning your favor."
"Did you bring everyone else to Zanarkand too?" he asked eventually, starting to feel a little drowsy.
"They are all here now," she replied, "You will see them soon."
"How did you get them here?" asked Tidus.
"Don't worry about such things," she cautioned sternly, "Just enjoy the reunion."
"One more question," he said as he closed his eyes.
"No more questions," she replied with mild exasperation.
"I just want to know your name," he elaborated, "I mean your real name." She frowned slightly, lost in thought for a moment.
"I do not remember now," she finally admitted, "It must have been lost along with everything else."
"What should I call you then?" he asked, drifting off.
"Choose a name for me," she suggested.
"Alma," he muttered in his sleep.
"Good boy," she stated as she half turned to meet the curious gaze of Yuna, who was standing at the door with a bowl of water.
The afternoon light slanted off the high-rise slums of C-Block West. Even as city as prosperous as Zanarkand needed places for the poor. Grim factories blanketed much of the neighborhood in a fog of gray smoke. The back alleys were dark and menacing even during the day. Auron strode fearlessly through these streets, grimly confident in his ability to handle any situation. He was well aware that he was being shadowed, but he was in no hurry to unmask his pursuer. He walked around the corner into a dead end alley and spun around suddenly, drawing his sword and throwing the empty sleeve of his cloak off to one side in one smooth motion.
"Enough with the games," he muttered. The tip of Murasame was nearly touching the nose of a dirty and skinny stray dog. It had golden fur and it was wagging its tail cheerfully as it sniffed at his blade. Auron chuckled a bit but quickly swung his sword towards a nearby rooftop.
"Show yourself," he ordered. A young woman leapt to the ground, dressed in a tan skintight wetsuit with orange trim up the sides and on the arms. She wore bright red boots and gloves, with matching shoulder pads and faceguard, a pair of goggles hiding her eyes.
"What's with the outfit Rikku?" he inquired laconically as he lowered his sword.
"Huh?" she asked as she looked down at her gloved hands, "I wasn't wearing this before."
"Very astute," commented Auron dryly.
"Oh, the poor doggie!" explained Rikku, suddenly dropping to her knees next to the stray.
"Don't feed him," cautioned Auron, "We don't have the time for such burdens." She gave him an angry look.
"Don't be so heartless!" she chided.
"Do as you like," he said as he walked away, "We don't have much time."
"What's the rush?" she demanded.
"Let's find Tidus," he suggested without stopping.
"We have to go now Mister Doggie," said Rikku, patting the dog's head, "Take care 'kay?"
Together Auron and Rikku made their way through the streets until the came upon a large crowd that was murmuring excitedly.
"Any idea what it is?" inquired one bystander.
"It's huge whatever it is," suggested another.
"I hope it's not dangerous," said a third person. Auron pushed his way through the crowd, which was standing in a ring. Kimarhi was sitting cross-legged on the ground, with his Spirit Lance leaning against his shoulder and his eyes closed in mediation. He looked like he was simply waiting.
"Kimahri!" screamed Rikku hopping up and down behind the crowd.
"Where is Yuna?" he rumbled as he got to his feet. The people took several fearful steps back.
"What's wrong, never seen a Ronso before?" asked Rikku.
"They haven't," commented Auron.
"Kimahri look for Yuna," added the Ronso. They both nodded to him as they walked together down an avenue. It opened out on a park filled with trees and shrubbery lining walkways past tall fountains. They also spotted Wakka hiding behind one of the trees.
"Whatcha doing?" asked Rikku as she approached him. He whirled around, his expression quickly turning to anger.
"There's Al Bhed here too!" he sputtered, "And you're…hey is that you Rikku?"
"Yeah, it's me," she said with her hands on her hips, "Nice to see you too." As much as she was used to prejudice, it hurt worse when she saw it in her friends. Maybe she was being unfair. At least Wakka was trying to overcome his biases.
"What are you doing?" asked Auron wearily.
"Well I was looking for you guys, ya?" he began, "And then I found Lu over there." They followed his gaze to Lulu, who was sitting on a park bench near the fountain, her back to them.
"So why hide?" asked Kimahri.
"She just looked so peaceful-like," replied Wakka, "It seemed a shame to disturb her." Rikku looked across to Lulu and then back to Wakka, an impish smirk spreading across her face.
"Aha!" she said triumphantly, "You like her!"
"Of course I like her," he replied with a clueless expression, "She's one of my best friends." Rikku leaned in closer.
"I mean you like her lots," she whispered conspiratorially.
"Huh?" said Wakka before the realization dawned on him. "Heck no!" he protested, "She was gonna marry my late kid brother!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Rikku contritely, "I didn't know."
"You can all come out now," suggested Lulu, still watching the fountain. Sheepishly, Rikku and Wakka ambled over, followed by Auron and Kimahri.
"Guess you heard us, huh Lu?" asked Wakka as he scratched his head nervously.
"Never mind that," she said as she stood up, "Have you seen Yuna?" Their crestfallen expressions answered her question.
"Tidus owns a houseboat," suggested Auron, "We should look by the docks." He handed a black book to Lulu.
"What is this?" she inquired as she opened the pages.
"Kinoc's diary," he replied, "Turn to the page I marked." The others peered over her shoulders as she regarded a meticulous drawing of a horrible chained monster. They easily recognized the upper half as Anima but they had only seen the tortured creature that continued below the waist a few times when Anima was in overdrive. It had long scraggy white hair framing a skull-like face with the same curved tusks, its eye sockets covered by bands of metal. Diamond-shaped pins crowned it head and the long arms ended in emaciated talons. It looked like the two creatures had been grafted together at the waist. Lulu squinted at Kinoc's meticulous handwriting.
"Who is 'the Prisoner'?" she quoted.
"That's what he referred to Anima's upper half," he explained, "All of the Fayth's grief, suffering, and guilt made flesh."
"What about the other half?" asked Wakka with an audible gulp.
"What he called 'the Blind Queen' is Anima's overdrive," stated Auron, "She embodies all of the Fayth's fury, pain, and madness."
"So when he freed one, he freed the other," said Lulu with horrified fascination. She quickly leafed through the other pages of the diary.
"Did he finish this diary?" asked Rikku as she stared at the blank pages. Auron took the book back and frowned.
"There was writing on every page," he began turning back to the page with the drawing, "But I only read up to this point."
"Pages now blank," added Kimahri.
"Forget about the diary already!" snapped Lulu coldly, "Tidus and Yuna may be in danger!"
They began to run down towards the wharf.
Tidus was cheerfully steering the boat towards the harbor again. Yuna leaned against the railing, enjoying both the salty air and his buoyant mood.
"You look much happier," she stated.
"Yeah, I feel much better," he replied half-turning, "I was worried for a while, but it looks like everything's going to be fine."
"What about Sin?" she asked, dreading the subject. Tidus was quiet for a long time.
"I wasn't ready to fight my Sin until now," he explained, "But now I have no regrets." He gave her a cheerful grin. "Just say the word, and we'll go back to Spira." Yuna looked slightly troubled by that but then walked over to his side.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked.
"I used to think that Zanarkand was my home," he replied, "But I realize home is wherever you are with me." Yuna shyly took his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Thank you for taking me here," she stated. Tidus suddenly became aware of a splashing sound. They saw a lithe young woman in a wetsuit climb over the side of the lower railing. He drew out Caladbolg and ran down the stairs. The girl barely deflected the force of the blow with her claw weapon. Tidus slowly recognized that the claw was Godhand.
"Rikku?" he asked in amazement. He hadn't seen her dressed like that since the first time they'd met.
"You sure know how to make a girl feel welcome," she said as she pulled up her goggles.
"Rikku, you made it!" said Yuna, rushing downstairs to embrace her.
"Yunie!" replied Rikku happily as she held her cousin close.
"Where's everyone else?" asked Tidus.
"Look over there!" she said, pointing. They looked over to the docks where they saw some familiar people waiting for them.
"It's them!" yelled Yuna running to the bow of the ship. She waved happily.
"Hey, you guys okay?" shouted Wakka from the pier.
"Yuna safe," said Kimahri with a faint sigh of relief, "Kimahri glad."
Tidus slowly steered the boat into docking and then pulled a lever that caused the landing ramp to drop down. Lulu quickly walked up the gangplanks and embraced Yuna.
"What's wrong?" asked Yuna, picking up the undercurrent of fear in her guardians.
"Where is she?" demanded Auron.
"Don't disturb her!" warned Tidus as he ran down the stairs, "She's sleeping now."
"She didn't do anything, did she?" asked Rikku.
"You mean Alma?" said Yuna in confusion, "We found her injured by the side of the road."
"Alma?" said Tidus with a gasp, "That's her name?"
"You gave her that name," she continued, "Don't you remember?" Tidus stared at her blankly.
"That was my mother's name," he stated numbly.
"Enough," growled Auron as he brushed past Tidus and opened the door to the cabin, his sword drawn.
The bed was empty: she was gone.